Molecular identification of infertile bulls by using newly developed DDX3Y based on human STS markers

To determine the role of DDX3Y gene in spermatogenesis and infertility in bulls, blood samples were collected from five infertile bulls (azoospermic; no sperm in the semen) at the Animal Breeding Center in Karaj, Iran. The recommended human primers by EAA/EQMN were investigated using the BLASTn database for STS marker detection. Alignment of STS marker genes with bovine genome was performed. Primer Premier 5 and CLC Main Workbench 5.5 softwares were used in designing common primer for the bovine and human DDX3Y gene. Genomic DNA screening of peripheral blood was conducted for detection of DDX3Y gene deletion in the Y chromosome by the PCR method. The bioinformatics analysis of human binding-primers of STS markers indicated that there was no chance connection and target fragment production for bovine samples. Investigation of DDX3Y gene on fertile bovine samples showed that the designed primer could detect the target gene as well. The results showed that three bulls had partial deletion in DDX3Y gene as a cause of their infertility. In conclusion, the DDX3Y gene can be a valuable marker to detect infertility in young male calves.